N.Y. Judicial Pay ‘An Embarrassment’

A study shows that pay for New York judges is 48th lowest among the states when adjusted for cost of living.

The only states with lower cost-of-living-adjusted pay are Hawaii and Oregon, according to the study by the National Center for State Courts (PDF).

Trial-level supreme court judges in the state currently make $136,700.

The study also found that 117 judges in the state, or about 10 percent of the total, have borrowed against their pensions, up from 28 judges in 2004, according to the New York Law Journal. NCSC President Mary Campbell McQueen says that’s an indication of financial stress.

New York judges have also gone the longest without any pay adjustment.

“What a pity, what a shame, what an embarrassment it is … that our judges face a ninth year of absolutely frozen compensation,” New York Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye said at a news conference.